Can you believe this people?! I’m on a roll! The melting snow, the sunny skies, some upcoming adventures on the calendar, all seem to be helping some inspiration return to my life. And for this, I am so so grateful. I can tell I’m returning to myself because I keep trying to feed my friends. You’re stressed? I should feed you. You’re sad? I should feed you. You’re celebrating? I should feed you.

Here’s some stuff I’m working on for you: some beautiful sugar free desserts, a foodie review of BOSTON! (where I will be next week with IronSister as she runs the Boston Marathon), and of course I will be giving you an indepth guide to the new Calgary Farmers Market, when(if. sniff. sob) it opens!

But for today: a new risotto. I did this risotto a bit differently than my normal risotto. For one thing, no onion, which is usually a risotto staple. Second, I didn’t stir in parmesan at the end like most risottos called for, I stirred in some crumbled feta. The feta went great with the peppery arugula. Give it a try!

Mushroom Arugula Risotto

Serves 4

1/4 cup butter

2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms

1 small zucchini, chopped

1.5 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

6 cups(or so) broth(chicken or veg) or water/broth mixed

large handful of arugula

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary

Directions: Heat broth in a small pot, until it’s just simmering. In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and zucchinis and stir until juices are rendered, about 3 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat. Add wine and stir until mostly absorbed. Add broth one ladle at a time and stir until liquid is mostly absorbed before adding more liquid. Stir constantly, adding liquid, until rice is tender, 35-40 minutes. Stir in arugula and feta and rosemary. Serve!

What the heck is kamut right? Kamut is an ancient form of wheat. Similar to spelt. It pops up in ancient writings such as the Bible(rumored to be the grain Noah kept on the ark). It is high in protein, and very high in selenium. While it is not gluten free, because it is a form of wheat, it is more tolerable to people with wheat sensitivities than many other forms of wheat. It is super easy to cook and delicious! The best part is that…it’s LOCAL! Yes! Grown right here in Canada, it is an Artesian Acres product I bought at a little market in Salmon Arm, BC. So I’ve had this big bag of it for some time and have wondered what to do with it. I have baked with kamut flour before but never used the full grains which look a lot like rice. I had a very hard time finding other recipes for cooking kamut so thought I’d try to whip something up. Kamut is so shockingly easy to make…ready for it….get a pen….Step 1. Soak grain in water.

That’s it. No step two. You soak it until it softens a bit, overnight or so. I soaked it two nights so that it sprouted. It still retains a nice kind of crunch to it, no mush at all. Once you’ve soaked it, follow this super easy recipe and you will have a delicious risotto-like entree or side dish!